In the News

Ronald and Carol Lewis are the new owners of Mt. View Cemetery. They say the cemetery has thousands of burial plots available and they can design your headstone to your specifications. They can be reached at 473-7332.

Cemetery Unearths New Owners

By James Clark

September 12, 2015

After nine years of working for Mt. View Cemetery owner Scottie Keel, you could say Ronald Lewis dug up a bit of knowledge about the trade. So when the opportunity presented itself, Ronald and his wife Carol purchased the cemetery and took ownership last week.
“I’ve been here for the past nine years, ever since Scottie has had it,” said Ronald. “I design the monuments and that’s really the heart and soul of the business. We can do it all here. We’re a one-stop shop. We can sell you a plot, sell you a monument, and handle the opening and closing of the grave. We even have the tents and the chairs. That’s something a lot of people don’t realize.”
Mt. View Cemetery has 26.5 acres of property and an estimated 5,000 available grave sites. Ronald says there are a few plots available in the old section and thousands available in the new section. He said if a family is looking to get 8 to 10 plots together, that is available.
Since I rarely have a chance to talk about cemeteries, I was eager to fire questions at Ronald about the business. He said Mt. View Cemetery was first established in 1924 and at that time had several owners. He said the industry is heavily regulated to prevent people who invest in cemetery plots from losing their money 20 years down the road.
“I believe we’re the only cemetery in the city limits where you can still purchase a plot,” said Ronald. “We’re also working on opening a cremation garden since there’s a growing demand for that.”
Ronald took me around the cemetery and showed me some of his headstone work. It is impressive. He sells his specially made monuments all over Middle Tennessee and has even done business in Kentucky.
“He can do any type of scene you like,” said Carol. “He’s done a kid shooting basketball and he’s done a beach scene. He can give you a proof before he starts of exactly what it will look like and you can make any changes to that.”
One thing you can say about the monument business is it requires heavy lifting. Ronald recently set a monument in Gallatin that weighed 8,200 pounds and he said it’s common for them to weigh over 1 ton. Asked about the monument that fell on the boy's leg Wednesday at Ramsey Park, Ronald said that easily weighed 1 ton.
As for cost, that can vary greatly.
“I’ve sold them from $200 to $25,000,” said Ronald. “But I’d say the average price for most people is between $1,200 and $2,500.”
Ronald and Carol say they are fortunate to have Cody Qualls as a reliable and talented employee. They say they are looking forward to channeling their energy toward the cemetery and making a number of upgrades. If you’d like more information, Mt. View Cemetery can be reached at 473-7332.